Conventionally, a process of scanning a paper document with a scanner and processing the scanned image data at a host computer is generally carried out. In this type of process, the scanned image data is input to a host computer. A user retouches the input image data using an image editing application or the like. Furthermore, the user then adds to the retouched image data such processing instructions as double-sided, staple, hole punch, etc., as necessary using a printer driver, and outputs the data from a printing device. In addition, when printing a data file handled by an ordinary application, it is possible to perform a variety of print settings using the printer driver. Instructions to punch, staple and so forth are carried out in units of documents. Accordingly, in recent years the development of a make-ready application for preparing printing has progressed.
In a printing system shown in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2003-162407, through a bookbinding application on an image processing apparatus, printing can be managed in levels of a document, a book, a chapter or a page, and furthermore, it is possible to carry out print settings on the bookbinding application. In the bookbinding application, print settings for carrying out settings for the entire book and print settings that can be set at each level are provided. For example, in a post process such as finishing, staple, punch or the like, the processing of additional information such as a watermark, a header/footer or the like can be set in chapter units or in page units.
With the make-ready application, the original document data is limited to application data and image data as described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2003-162407. By contrast, however, a make-ready application that can accommodate a paper document is desired. In other words, conventionally, the user edits image objects of staple and punch-hole in image data obtained by scanning a paper document with a scanner manually. In recent make-ready applications, an arrangement is provided in which a scanned staple or punch-hole image object is easily deleted.
A paper document is commonly composed of multiple pages. To manually image-edit each page of a scanned plurality of image data would impose a major burden on the user. Consequently, an image editing process carried out on a given page (the contents of the editing or the position on the image data to be edited) could be stored and that image editing process executed repeatedly for a plurality of pages.
However, ordering a retouch of one image and repeating the same retouch of a plurality of images cannot be carried out in a case in which the sizes of the respective images are different. For example, although an image of the same size as the one image for which a retouch has been ordered can be retouched, it is likely that retouching an image of a different size would be difficult. Consequently, retouching must be carried out after selecting images of the same size and reformulating them into groups targeted for image processing. In this case, separate image processing operations must be repeated for as many types of image sizes as are present, and there is a risk that productivity of the work of retouching images will cease to improve.
In addition, with the conventional retouch method, each image is processed by using a coordinate origin fixed in place on the image data as a reference and aligning the position of the image to be processed with reference to that origin. For example, with an image obtained by scanning both sides of a loose-leaf type paper document bound by a binder, the binder holes appear to the left and the right alternately according to the order of scanning. In order to implement an image process that removes the binder holes from this type of image, it is necessary to change the position of the hole to be erased with every page. However, with the conventional retouching method, image processing that depends on the direction of binding could not be performed. As a result, it is necessary to select the image with the binder holes on the same side and to create a group of images, and either erase the binder holes in each group or perform image processing separately on each image. When the position that is targeted for retouching changes with each image, prior to retouch, each image in which the position to be retouched is the same must be sorted into, for example, the same folder, and hence operability is not good.
In addition, when designating the position to be retouched, the position at which the retouch operation is to be applied is determined while referencing one specific image. As a result, in another image to which retouching is applied, it cannot be confirmed in advance whether or not the retouch position is correct. Accordingly, it is often the case that unintended retouching results, requiring that the whole operation be done again.